Sheet separating and feeding mechanism.



J. C. SHULTS. SHEET SEPARATING AND FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION man 1AN.24. 1916.

1,285,432; Patented Nov. 19,1918.

- by one from a UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

JAMES C. SHULTS, 0F MEADVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO RUSSAUTOMATIC LABELING (30., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

SHEET SEPARATING AND FEEDING MECHANISM.

Original application filed April 17. 1915. Serial No. 21.947. Divided and this 1916. Serial No. 74,011.

and feeding meehanism and has particular reference to a means for feeding sheets one pile, the sheets after being separated being used as labels, or to be printed upon, or for any other purpose wherein separated sheets are to be further handled. This application is tion filed April 17, l9l5,'Serial No. 21,947. By this invention, the labels or sheets'are fed from the top of a pile. .hva novel separating n'icchanisin, and in order to insure.-

that the labels will be fed siugly the pile is automatically maintained at. a given level;

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1- is an elevation of a the invention, and

Fig. 2 is a planiview; a Referring now to Fitz. 1,. -tliesshe tsxor labels 15 are stackedona vertically movable support 16,.which' support cartiesa vertical rack 17, which is autoniatically lifted so as to keep the. tQp of'the pile of labelsal-ways well known-.construetioir consisting of a winding shaft ter having a ;i tchet'QO and .pa-\vls 21'. spring is. slrown jon shaft- 26.. carries, a pinion larger ear fil iivhiel'i is turned by a pinion '25 on shaft 26 bv lumdle 27. By turning handle 27 in the direction of the arrow, the

, The

spring; amt-tee is wound up. The arrows Specification of Letters Patent.

-a division of applicamecha'nism embodying a edetermineo ant; A spring motor-' mechanism is preferablvused for-th s purei' pose, the SPI'illgI-ltlfillll' being ot any usual or 1 6 gen red" to shaft dtifthe lat} The shaft 51) 23wh-ich is geared to Patented Nov. 19, time.

application filed January 24,

This gearing very considerably multiplies the revolutions of flier 36 from shaft 26, which through pinion and gear 24 is geared to the raelc 17 through gear 38. When the flier 3G is prevented from turning, as b rod 39, the entire train of gearing is stationary, and thus the label support 16 is held stationary. When the spring is wound up, the support 16. through gears 38 and rack 17 is lowered.

' The rod 39 is mounted at the top of the machine above the labels on a rock shaft 40, and this rock shaft carries an arm 41 provided with a roller 42 which rests on the top label. When the roller 42 drops sufficiently, the end of rod 39 will be thrown downwardlv clear of flier 36 and thus flier 36 will rotate and through thereductiOn gearing' to gear 38 will graduallvlift. the rack 17 and the pile of labels until the end of rod.

39 again comes in the path of the revolving flier 36. By suitable adjustments, this mechanism can bemade so delicate that the pile of labels will automatically be fed upwardly as each one is withdrawn.

The sheet or label separator comprises a, cross head 45, which rec'iprocates on guides 46. being operated from shaft 48 by pitmen ift. The. cross head carries two pivots 50, between which is mounted an arm 51 carrying rubber rollers 52 which bear on the top label. These rollers are rotatabl v mounted in the arm 5L but are held from rotating: lnwlnvardlv b a ratchet 53. During the feeding motion, which is the motion to the right inl i s. land 2, the arm 51 and rollers 52 rest on the-top label by gravity and pull thistop-label from the other labels-and push it'forward into the bite of belts 5%. l have found that a mere reciprocatorv roller is wardly or to the left so that the label tends to lift up on the inclined edge. The puslr lug rollers 52. by reason of the engagement of the'ratchet 53, simply push the top label only and the knife pins 56 engage a fraction ofan inch at the rear end of the label. As soon as the forward end of the label is grasped by the belts 54-, the label is pulled bodily forward, and the ratchet 5.3 yields and permits the rollers 52 to revolve When if the cross head strikes its extreme forward position, the arm 58 on arm 51 strikes a stop 60, liftin rollers 52 off the label and also causing tch 61 to engage and hold the a='m 51 and the rollers elevated during the back stroke. At the end of the back stroke the latch 61 is tripped by striking sto 63, thereby allowing the; arm 51 and rollers 52 to drop on the next label to push it off the top of the pile upon the next/for: ward movement. 'lhe stop and the trip 63 can be made adjustable to suit/various lengths of labels. The rollers 52 are adjustable in the arm ill/tOWflId and from the pivots 50 so as to change the angle of thrust through arm 51 with the surface ofthe label. By adjusting this angleexactly the right thrust can be secured. Stop 1'33 pivoted sothat it'can be turned back, thus preventing tripping of latch 6C This stops the feed of labels without stopping the entire machine.

From the bolts 54 the sheet or label is del vered to any desired mechanism, eithe' 'for printing, gumming, moistening, etc,v preparatory to final dlsposstion of the sheet. a

It is to be understood that while this invention was originally shown in connection with a label applying mechanism, it is not to be restricted thereixnasvthe mechanism is intended for general sheet sc 'iarating and feeding purposes.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that a very accurate and reliable sheet separating and feeding mechanism of novel construction is provided by the foregoingmechanism, and in actualpractice, 1t

has been found to reliably and accurately separate and feed sheets Where; previous mechanisms had failed. Within the scope of the appended claims, various n1odifica tions and changes in the specific parts may be made.

gearing, to be I and meanscfor "blocklng said escapement to ream-an What I claim is r 1. The combination with a movable sheet support, of a rotary escape tient \device driven at a relatively higher {velocity and oonnectedto control the movementbf said sheet support to secure minutevaridtions of height, sheet actuated means; for holding said escapement, and means actuating; said escapeinent and said support ,iyhcn the escapement is free f. r

2. The combination wit a movable sheet support, of a rotary zz s capement device driven at a relatively lig er' velocity and connected to control tla c'" mp vement of said.

step movement of said pile suport.

. The combination with a s eet pile sup- \port, of means geared thereto and biased to inove said support as the pile varies, a rotary escapcment device connected to said gearing to be driven at a multiplied rate, and sheet controlled means for blocking said 'ea'ed thereto and biased escapeinent to stop movement of said pile support. l

5.'The combination with a pile support, of means for automatlcall y maintaining the pile level comprising a flier controlled lifting mechanism and a pile actuated flier con troller, means for engaging and lifting the top sheet, and a separatin,, and pulling mechanism for the top sheet.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature in presence of two witnesses. 1

JAMES C. SHUTPS.

Witnesses:

.ALBERT R; Holnnxornn, JOHN SGHULER. 

